Lawson, 3,200 relay team wins states

Saturday

Jun 7, 2014 at 7:23 PMJun 7, 2014 at 7:23 PM

By CHRIS GILLcmgill@the-leader.com

CICERO — The Corning Hawks sure know how to make the state track meet exciting.

The girls 3,200-meter relay team won a see-saw battle for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship, while John McCarthy fell agonizingly short of a first-place medal in the steeplechase Saturday at the Michael J. Bragman Athletic Complex on the campus of Cicero-North Syracuse High School.

Morgan Gallagher and Michelle Crook kept the Hawks in the top four during the first half of the 3,200 relay, and once Maddie Ustanik took the baton the complexion of the race changed. Ustanik was able to overtake two competitors during her stint and handed off to closer Jessica Lawson – who already had one state title to her credit this weekend. Over two laps, or 800 meters, Lawson and Canton’s Maria Ricalton entered the last eighth of the race neck-and-neck, but by the time the field hit the final set of turns, Lawson found an extra gear and pulled away by four seconds for her fourth state crown (cross country; indoor track; 3,000 meters; outdoor track 3,000 meters; and the 3,200 relay) and fourth federation title in her freshman season.

“I definitely felt the pressure right when I got the baton, but Maddie got us in a nice position – she handed off to me in first place with a pretty good lead,” Lawson said. “I just felt the pressure of keeping that up and not letting the team down.”

“I got past first place around the 200-meter mark and I just continued to go,” Ustanik said of her stint. “I got a lead, handed it off to Jessica and she finished it off for the win. Overall, it was a great effort and I’m proud of this team.”

McCarthy's finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase championship run was going to be exciting one way or another, but with one hurdle remaining the event became a show stopper.

In the middle of the final set of turns, Corning's senior long-distance ace McCarthy turned on the afterburners and moved from fourth to first place in the final 300 meters, only to trip over the last hurdle and cross the finish line in second place. He was two tents of a second behind Hilton's Tyler Ranke - who had the race won on the back stretch, lost it on the front straight and won it again at the line.

"I ran a pretty good 2,999 meters," McCarthy deadpanned. "I'm definitely pleased with how my entire season has played out. I've had the best one of my life so far, I can't say I'm unhappy with any of the races I've run so far. It's been a really great time closing out my senior year."

McCarthy stayed with the lead pack for the entire race, but in the final third of the race the field got pretty spread out with the Hawk running fourth. With 800 meters left, McCarthy started his tear through the field.

"That last lap was awesome, you can't be disappointed by that at all," said Corning head coach Joe Melanson. "That last 300 meters, there was no stopping him."

Third, second and first place runners had nothing for the gold and black missile - who looked like he was running a sprint race. One by one, they all watched McCarthy flash past them on the outside and coming down to the final hurdle of the grueling race, the leader misjudged - perhaps because he approached the hurdle faster than he had at any other point in the race.

"I guess I just launched a little too late and as my lead leg was coming up I just kind of kicked the underside of (the hurdle) instead of clearing it," said a poised McCarthy. "Another two inches back and maybe I get over it."

While the would-be state champ kept his cool, even while nursing abrasions on his right elbow and knee, the crowd was not as reserved. The audience's palpable excitement at McCarthy’s superhumanesque last-lap surge turned to an audible sigh at the Michael J. Bragman Athletic Complex on the campus of Cicero-North Syracuse High School.

"I just think we were stunned - it was one of those shocking things. We're watching the race unfold and it's like, 'He's got the race in the bag.' It's one of those things," Melanson said.

"I had a nice false sense of security because I've watched this kid race this event 20 times and that's never happened, but it could happen every single time," said Corning assistant coach Andrew Cartwright.

For the Hawks, who had four podium appearances and two state titles in two days, this weekend was one to remember.

"You can't go out on a higher note than coming here and giving it everything you have, leaving it all out there,” Melanson said. “Our kids came here and left it all on the track, we're just proud of them getting here and doing everything they can.”

Corning’s Seth Spicer finished fifth in the pentathlon, where he recorded the second-best 1,500-meter relay time in the event; teammate Katie Butler was 11th in the 2,000-meter steeplechase; and Brian Bates was 26th in the steeplechase. Corning’s boys 3,200-meter relay team placed ninth overall behind strong efforts from McCarthy, Tom Moshier, Ben Mertus and Jay Fyfye and Horseheads’ Robert Scherb placed 18th in the high jump finals – five inches off the winning height.